2012考研英语真题及答案

1、.2012 考研英语（一）真题及答案Section I Use of EnglishDirections: Read the following text. Choose the best word(s) for each numbered blank and mark A, B, C or D on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an important issue recently. The court cannot _1_ its leg

2、itimacy as guardian of the rule of law _2_ justices behave like politicians.Yet, in several instances, justices acted in ways that _3_ the court s reputation for being independent and impartial.Justice Antonin Scalia, for example, appeared at political events. That kind of activity makes it less lik

3、ely that the court s decisions will be _4_ as impartial judgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not _5_by an ethics code. At the very least, the court should make itself _6_to the code of conduct that _7_to the rest of the federal judiciary.This and other similar cases _8_the questio

4、n of whether there is still a _9_between the court and politics.The framers of the Constitution envisioned law _10_having authority apart from politics. They gave justices permanent positions _11_they would be free to _12_ those in power and have no need to _13_ political support. Our legal system w

5、as designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely _14_.Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social _15_ like liberty and property. When the court deals with social policy decisions, the law it _16_ is inescapably politic

6、al-which is why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily _17_ as unjust.The justices must _18_ doubts about the court s legitimacy by making themselves _19_ to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and, _20_, convincing as law.1.Ae

7、mphasizeBmaintainCmodifyD recognize2.AwhenBlestCbeforeD unless3.ArestoredBweakenedCestablishedD eliminated4.AchallengedBcompromised CsuspectedD accepted5.AadvancedBcaughtCboundDfounded6.AresistantBsubjectCimmuneDprone7.AresortsBsticksCloadsDapplies8.AevadeBraiseCdenyDsettle9.AlineBbarrierCsimilarity

8、Dconflict10.AbyBasCthoughDtowards11.AsoBsinceCprovidedDthough12.AserveBsatisfyCupsetDreplace13.AconfirmBexpressCcultivateDoffer14.AguardedBfollowedCstudiedDtied15.AconceptsBtheoriesCdivisionsDconceptions16.AexcludesBquestionsCshapesDcontrols17.AdismissedBreleasedCrankedDdistorted18.AsuppressBexploit

9、CaddressDignore;.19.AaccessibleBamiableCagreeableDaccountable20.Aby all mesns Batall costsCin a wordDas a resultSection II Reading ComprehensionPart ADirections: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A,B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 poin

10、ts)Text 1Come on Everybody s doing it. That whispered message, half invitationand half forcing, iswhat most of us think of when we hear the words peer pressure. It usually leads to no good-drinking, drugs and casual sex. But in her new book Join the Club, Tina Rosenberg contends that peer pressure c

11、an also be a positive force through what she calls the social cure, in which organizations and officials use the power of group dynamics to help individuals improve their lives and possibly the word.Rosenberg, the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, offers a host of example of the social cure in action:

12、In South Carolina, a state-sponsored antismoking program called Rage Against the Haze sets out to make cigarettes uncool. In South Africa, an HIV-prevention initiative known as LoveLife recruits young people to promote safe sex among their peers.The idea seems promising， and Rosenberg is a perceptiv

13、e observer. Her critique of the lameness of many pubic-health campaigns is spot-on: they fail to mobilize peer pressure for healthy habits, and they demonstrate a seriously flawed understanding of psychology. ” Dare to be different, pleasedon t smoke! ” pleads one billboard campaign aimed at reducin

14、g smoking among teenagers-teenagers, who desire nothing more than fitting in. Rosenberg argues convincingly that public-health advocates ought to take a page from advertisers, so skilled at applying peer pressure. But on the general effectiveness of the social cure, Rosenberg is less persuasive. Joi

15、n the Club is filled with too much irrelevant detail and not enough exploration of the social and biological factors that make peer pressure so powerful. The most glaring flaw of the social cure as it s presented here is that it doesnt work very well for very long. Rage Against the Haze failed once

16、state funding was cut. Evidence that the LoveLife program produces lasting changes is limited and mixed.There s no doubt that our peer groups exert enormous influence on our behavior. An emerging body of research shows that positive health habits-as well as negative ones-spread through networks of f

17、riends via social communication. This is a subtle form of peer pressure: we unconsciously imitate the behavior we see every day.Far less certain, however, is how successfully experts and bureaucrats can select our peer groups and steer their activities in virtuous directions. It s like the teacher w

18、ho breaks up the troublemakers in the back row by pairing them with better-behaved classmates. The tactic never really works. And that s the problem with a social cure engineered from the outside: in the real world, as in school, we insist on choosing our own friends.21. According to the first parag

19、raph, peer pressure often emerges as A a supplement to the social cureB a stimulus to group dynamicsC an obstacle to school progressD a cause of undesirable behaviors22. Rosenberg holds that public advocates should;.A recruit professional advertisersB learn from advertisers experienceC stay away fro

20、m commercial advertisersD recognize the limitations of advertisements23. In the author s view, Rosenbergs book fails to A adequately probe social and biological factorsB effectively evade the flaws of the social cure C illustrate the functions of state funding Dproduce a long-lasting social effect24

21、. Paragraph 5shows that our imitation of behaviors A is harmful to our networks of friendsB will mislead behavioral studies C occurs without our realizing itD can produce negative health habits25. The author suggests in the last paragraph that the effect of peer pressure is A harmfulB desirable C pr

22、ofoundD questionable Text 2A deal is a deal-except, apparently ,when Entergy is involved. The company, a major energysupplier in New England, provoked justified outrage in Vermont lastweek when it announced itwas reneging on a longstanding commitment to abide by the strict nuclear regulations.Instea

23、d, the company has done precisely what it had long promised it would not challenge theconstitutionality of Vermont s rules in the federal court, as part of a desperate effort to keep its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant running. It s a stunning move.The conflict has been surfacing since 2002, when

24、 the corporation bought Vermonts only nuclearpower plant, an aging reactor in Vernon. As a condition of receiving state approval for the sale, the company agreed to seek permission from state regulators to operate past 2012. In 2006, the statewent a step further, requiring that any extension of the

25、plant s license be subject to Vermont legislature s approval. Then, too, the company went along.Either Entergy never really intended to live by those commitments, or it simply didn t foresee what would happen next. A string of accidents, including the partial collapse of a cooling tower in 207and th

26、e discovery of an underground pipe system leakage, raised serious questions about both Vermont Yankee s safety and Entergy s management especially after the company mademisleading statements about the pipe. Enraged by Entergy s behavior, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 last year against allowing an

27、 extension.Now the company is suddenly claiming that the 2002 agreement is invalid because of the 2006 legislation, and that only the federal government has regulatory power over nuclear issues. The legal issues in the case are obscure: whereas the Supreme Court has ruled that states do have some re

28、gulatory authority over nuclear power, legal scholars say that Vermont case will offer a precedent-setting test of how far those powers extend. Certainly, there are valid concerns about the patchwork regulations that could result if every state sets its own rules. But had Entergy kept its word, that

29、 debate would be beside the point.;.The company seems to have concluded that its reputation in Vermont is already so damaged that it has noting left to lose by going to war with the state. But there should be consequences. Permission to run a nuclear plant is a poblic trust. Entergy runs 11 other re

30、actors in the United States, including Pilgrim Nuclear station in Plymouth. Pledging to run Pilgrim safely, the company has applied for federal permission to keep it open for another 20 years. But as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the company s application, it should keep it mind wh

31、at promises from Entergy are worth.26. The phrase “ reneging on” (Line 3.para.1) is closest in meaning to A condemning.B reaffirming. C dishonoring.D securing.27. By entering into the 2002 agreement, Entergy intended toA obtain protection from V ermont regulators.B seek favor from the federal legisl

32、ature.C acquire an extension of its business license .D get permission to purchase a power plant.28. According to Paragraph 4, Entergy seems to have problems with its A managerial practices.B technical innovativeness. C financial goals.D business vision29. In the author s view, the Vermont case will

33、 testA Entergy s capacity to fulfill all its promises.B the mature of states patchwork regulations.C the federal authority over nuclear issues .D the limits of states power over nuclear issues.30. It can be inferred from the last paragraph thatA Entergy s business elsewhere might be affected.B the a

34、uthority of the NRC will be defied.C Entergy will withdraw its Plymouth application.D Vermont s reputation might be damaged. Text 3In the idealized version of how science is done, facts about the world are waiting to be observedand collected by objective researchers who use the scientific method to

35、carry out their work. But inthe everyday practice of science, discovery frequently follows an ambiguous and complicated route.We aim to be objective, but we cannot escape the context of our unique life experience. Priorknowledge and interest influence what we experience, what we think our experience

36、s mean, and thesubsequent actions we take. Opportunities for misinterpretation, error, and self-deception abound.Consequently, discovery claims should be thought of as protoscience. Similarto newly stakedminingclaims, they are fullof potential.But ittakes collectivescrutiny and acceptance totransfor

37、m a discovery claim into a mature discovery. This is the credibility process, through whichthe individual researcher s me, here, now becomes the community s anyone, anywhere, anytime.Objective knowledge is the goal, not the starting point.;.Once a discovery claim becomes public, the discoverer recei

38、ves intellectual credit. But, unlike with mining claims, the community takes control of what happens next. Within the complex social structure of the scientific community, researchers make discoveries; editors and reviewers act asgatekeepers by controlling the publication process; other scientists u

39、se the new finding to suit theirown purposes; and finally,the public(including otherscientists) receives the new discoveryandpossibly accompanying technology. As a discovery claim works it through the community,theinteractionand confrontation between shared and competingbeliefs about the science and

40、 thetechnology involved transforms an individual s discovery claim into the community s crediblediscovery.Two paradoxes exist throughout this credibilityprocess. First,scientificworktends to focus onsome aspect of prevailingKnowledgethat isviewedas incompleteorincorrect. Littlerewardaccompanies dupl

41、icationand confirmationof what is already knownand believed. Thegoal isnew-search, not re-search. Not surprisingly,newlypublished discovery claimsandcrediblediscoveries that appear tobe important and convincing willalways be open to challenge andpotentialmodificationorrefutationbyfuture researchers.

42、Second, noveltyitself frequentlyprovokes disbelief. NobelLaureate and physiologist Albert Azent-Gyorgyi once described discovery as “ seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought. ” But thinking what nobody else has thought and telling others what they have missed may not chan

43、ge their views. Sometimes years are required for truly novel discovery claims to be accepted and appreciated.In the end, credibility “ happens” to a discovery claim a process that corresponds to what philosopher Annette Baier has described as the commons of the mind. “ We reason together, challenge,

44、 revise, and complete each other s reasoning and each other s conceptions of reason.”31. According to the first paragraph, the process of discovery is characterized by its A uncertainty and complexity.B misconception and deceptiveness. C logicality and objectivity.D systematicness and regularity.32.

45、 It can be inferred from Paragraph 2 that credibility process requiresA strict inspection. Bshared efforts.C individual wisdom. Dpersistent innovation.33.Paragraph 3 shows that a discovery claim becomes credible after itA has attracted the attention of the general public. Bhas been examined by the s

46、cientific community.C has received recognition from editors and reviewers. Dhas been frequently quoted by peer scientists.34. Albert Szent-Gy?rgyi would most likely agree thatA scientific claims will survive challenges.Bdiscoveries today inspire future research.C efforts to make discoveries are just

47、ified. Dscientific work calls for a critical mind.35.Which of the following would be the best title of the test?;.A Novelty as an Engine of Scientific Development. BCollective Scrutiny in Scientific Discovery.C Evolution of Credibility in Doing Science.DChallenge to Credibility at the Gate to Scienc

48、e.Text 4If the trade unionist JimmyHoffawere alive today, he wouldprobably represent civil servant.When Hoffa s Teamsters were intheir prime in 1960, onlyone in ten Americangovernmentworkers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in America s publicsector passed that of the

49、irfellowmembers in the private sector. In Britain, morethan half ofpublic-sector workers but only about 15% of private-sector ones are unionized.There are three reasons for the public-sector unions thriving.First, they can shut things downwithout suffering much inthe way of consequences. Second, the

50、y are mostlybright andwell-educated. A quarter of America s public-sector workers have a university degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way. Britain s Labor Party,as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism. Its current le

51、ader, Ed Miliband, owes his position to votes from public-sector unions.At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state s budget is patrolled by unions. Theteachers unions keep an eye on scho

52、ols, the CCPOA on prisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians have repeatedly “ backloaded” public-sector pay deals, keeping the p

53、ay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most egregiously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Even though there is plenty of evidence that the quality

54、 of the teachers is the most important variable, teachers unions have fought againstgetting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones.As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicianshave begun to clamp down. InWisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker,

55、the hardlineRepublican governor. But many within the public sector suffer under the current system, too.John Donahue at Harvard s Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers. The only American public-sector workers who earn well above $250,000 a year are university sports c